Hinge-guard.



S. ,P. STEVENSON.

HlNGE- GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAEII co-. WASHINGTON, u. c.

S. P. STEVENSON.

HINGE GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14. 1913.

1,167,444. Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

74 '14 1- %?w zwwwf y m 0 mm SAMUEL PRICE STEVENSON, OF CHESTER,PENNSYLVANIA.

HINGE-GUARD.

Lllti'lddt.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 19th.

Application filed June 14, 1913. Serial No. 773,691.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SAMUEL P. STnvnN- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, reslding in Chester, county of Delaware, State of Pennsylvania,have invented certa n Improvements in Hinge-Guards, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Some of the objects of this invention are as follows: To provide anunyielding guard for a flexible or yielding hinge, which will relieveand safeguard the hinge when subjected to abnormal strains uponopeningor closing the door; to perfect the sealing of the door underabnormal resistance; to overcome, within the limits of its strength,imp-edimentsto the free closing or opening of the door; to obligeoperatives to remove impediments which might otherwise impair thesealing, though they, by reason of the yielding nature of the hinge,permit closing or latching of the free edges of the door,because thehinge guard is so strong that the door cannot be closed'unless theobstruction yields.

By providing means to have both hinge and hinge guard at their point ofgreatest eficiency close to the floor, I avoid impairing that of-thehinge by placing it above the guard or that of the guard by placing itabove the, hinge. Also, when desired, the guard may be availed of toassist in supporting the weight ofthe door.

My invention is particularly adaptedfor use in connection withrefrigerator, and other air tight doors, which have to be closed tightlyagainst the door frame and is preferably used in connection with a doorhaving a yielding gasket located between a flange on the door and theframe.

Refrigerator doors are usually made comparatively heavy with an averageweight of from 175 to 400 lbs., consequently, a spring having a leaf, asillustrated in the drawings, which is flexible and wide, is'used toproperly carry the door and readily flex when the door is closed.

My invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with ahingewhich is set forth and claimed in a patent grantedto me on the 17thday of April, 1900,'No. 647,586, in which a bracket having bearings 'issecured to the door frame and a spring plate or strap is secured to thedoor. The strap has an eye through which the pivot of the hinge extends.

In opening or closing, the door swings on the pin and when moved to theclosed position sui'liciently to compress the gasket located between aflange-on the door and the frame, the strap or plate will cause the rearend of the door to be held tightly against the frame with a constantelastic force when the forward edge of the door is fastened by the usuallatch.

My invention is preferably applied to the lowerhinge and is so locatedthat it will relieve the hinge from the excessive or abnormal strainshereinbefore mentioned.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a front view of a refrigeratordoor illustrating my invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the lowerhinge with the guard in position; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view 011the line aa, Fig. 2, showing the door in the closed position; Fig. i isa similar view, showing the door partly opened; Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of the guard; Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view on the line 71-42,Fig. 2, showing the door closed, as in Fig. '3; Fig. 7 is a sectionalview on the same line as Fig. 6, showing the door partly closed and theguard acting to relieve abnormal strain on the spring plate of thehinge; Fig. 8 is a view showing the position of the parts when the dooris forced to the closed position under excessivepressure, the guardtaking the abnormal strain from the spring plate; and Figs. 9 and 10 areviews of modifications of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the frame.

2 is the door.

3 is the upper hinge and. hinge of the door.

The drawings illustrate a door ofa refrigerating compartment and, asabove described, is comparatively heavy. I preferably arrange the hingesas near the upper and lower edges of the door as possible to minimizethe strain 011 them. Each hinge has a bracket 5 having lugs and 6 is thespring plate or strap of the upper hinge having an eye. The pivot pin 7extends through the lugs of the bracket and through the eye of theplate.

8 is the spring plate of the lower hinge having an eye through which apin extends a is the lower and, as above remarked, the spring plates areof sufficient width to properly support the weight of the door. Theplates are made of spring metal so that they can be flexed. At the outerend of the door is a latch 10 adapted to a keeper 11 on the frame. Thislatch can be made in any form desired.

The door 2 has a flange 12 which overlaps the frame 1, and secured tothe flange is the gasket 13, made in any form desired, so that it willbe compressed when the door is closed to form an air tight joint betweenthe door and the frame. The door, during a part of its movement, swingson these hinges, in the same manner as on ordinary hinges, but when thedoor is tightly closed, the spring plates are flexed, causing thegaskets to form a tight joint between the door and the frame. This isfully set forth and ,claimed in the above mentioned patent.

I have found, when foreign matter prevents the door from closing, thatthe spring plates are liable to be strained, especially the plates ofthe lower hinge, which sometimes causes them to take a set or to snap.To prevent the plates from being strained beyond the usual limits, Iprovide a guard 14: having a body portion shaped, in the presentinstance, similarly to the spring plate 8 and having two projecting arms15 which are slotted at 16 for the free passage of the pin 9. Undernormal strains the hinge guard does not impinge upon the hinge pin.These two arms 15 are spaced a distance apart greater than theperforated lugs of the bearing 5, as it is not desired that the guardshould take the weight of the door, but that it should act to safeguardthe spring plate 8, preventing its injury from. being flexed ing opened,bind upon the floor beyond the normal or the seal from thus being madeimperfect.

The slots 16 in the guard are so positioned with respect to the pivotpin, under normal conditions, that the ends of the slot do not come incontact with the pin, as clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, whichillustrates the door closed and the parts in the normal position. W hen,however, there is a block of wood, or any other obstruction, be tweenthe door and the frame and the door is closed and pressure is applied,the spring plate 8 is flexed so that the guard It will take the strain,as it will move until one end of the slot comes in contact with the pin9, as illustrated in Fig. 7. When pressure is continued and increasedthe guard receives and assumes all the increased strain. If, assometimes happens, the obstruction is too great to be overcome by suchreasonable force as may be applied, the great strength. of the hingeguard makes removal of the obstruction necessary, then the door may beproperly closed and both hinge and guard preserved. Should the door,when it is beor sill, due

to disarrangement or freezing, or should any foreign object be in thepath of the door in opening, the opposite ends of the slots would bearupon the pintle and the excess strain would be assumed by the hingeguard.

The hinge guard is preferably made of cast metal on account of itsrigidity, low cost and the fact that it will not take such permanentbend or set as would destroy its utility. It is the purpose rather tobreak the inexpensive casting, than to risk inaccuracy of straighteningand of subsequent adjustment and operation of a guard made of a toughermetal.

W hen the guard is applied to the hinge of a door which continues to beoperative despite neglect and abuse, the valuable contents of the roomare protected from the result of overstrain or of breakage until thehinges are properly refitted, or adjusted, or until the door is freedfrom obstructions.

A further use of this invention is that when it becomes desirableunder'exceptionable conditions to employ the hinge guard to carry aportion of the weight of the door, this can be accomplished by placing awasher between the upper arm of the hinge guard and the upper lug of thebracket 5, though at some sacrifice of freedom from frictional restraintand retardation. By placing the hinge guard directly over the hingeplate, as shown, and arranging them to act upon the same pintle, I haveboth elements in the closest possible relation to the point of greatestresistance and at the'point of greatest efliciency.

In some instances, my improved hinge may be used at the upper edge of adoor where it swings on horizontal pins and, in this case, my improvedguard may be mounted on each hinge so as to resist any abnormal strainsdue to pressure back of the door.

When desirable, I may use the guard on both hinges of a door havingvertical pivot pins, but I find, in the generality of cases, that aguard placed on the lower hinge is sufficient to meet usual conditions.

In Fig. 9, I have shown the guard with a single slotted arm arranged toengage the pin at the center of the hinge and in Fig. 10 I have shownthe lugs on the bracket extended to form bearings for the guard. 7 Whilemy invention is particularly adapted for use in connection withrefrigerator doors, it will be understood that it can be applied toother doors or to windows which are mounted to swing on hinges and inwhich gaskets are used to form a tight joint between a door and the jamor a Window and the frame.

I claim: 7

1. The combination of a frame; a door; a hinge having a bracket securedto the frame; a spring plate secured to the door;

and a guard of rigid material, also secured to the door, and extendingover the spring plate and having an arm projecting between the pintleand the frame and arranged to bear upon the pintle of the hinge whensaid hinge is subjected to excessive strains in closing the door.

2. The combination of a frame; a door; hinges by which the door is hungfrom the frame; each hinge having a rigid bracket secured to the frameand a spring plate secured to the door; a slotted guard extending overthe spring plate of the hinge; and a pin connecting the two parts of thehinge and extending through the slot in the guard.

3. The combination of a frame; a door; hinges therefor; each hingehaving a bracket provided with lugs and a spring plate having an eye,said plate being secured to the door; a guard extending over one of thespring plates and having slotted arms; and

body portion; and a slotted arm projecting 30 from end of the bodyportion, said arm being so located with respect to the hinge that thepintle of the hinge will pass through the slot of the guard.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL PRICE STEVENSON.

Witnesses:

CLYDE T. MoYER, WM. A. BARR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

